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boat .....

Let me know how that stuff works signwave. not sure if that'll do the trick. You might have to resort to using a heat source like a tiger torch or something. I don't know. Let me know how it works out for ya. Fire? lol reminds me of my younger days lol. When I was like 15, I worked at a welding shop after school. I was cutting one day and then suddenly I heard a bunch of yelling. I stopped cutting and relized I had like 6-8 foot flames under the cutting table. The cleaning lady swept a huge pile of oil soaked rags under the cutting table the night before. Ive never made the same mistake twice. you'd think I would of seen the rags but I was young and dumb. At least I learned from it. still dumb, just not young .........lol. JJ !
how big of a fire was it? I can picture you hopping around in a panick. lol too funny! should of u-tubed it .......lol. It's ok to laugh, no one got hurt and the boats all good. but man that would of been funny to see the look on your face. lol. as long as no one got hurt and the boats ok. good thing you got it out in time.

Hahahahaha!! it was kinda funny! big huge bilowing whitish puffs of smoke from the opening in the bow cabinet!!!and it stunk.... it wasnt much of a fire but it was enough that I could see it burning. My driveway is pretty tight right now too as ive got a pile of stuff for donation waiting to go. So i had to take the long way around the get to the hose... The missus says to me.. "bet you wont forgetthe hose next time will ya...?"

hehehehe... she dont know me vewy well do she..?

I also set fire to somethin under the sole of the boat as i was filling in some holes in it. this time though there was no access. I could see the light from the fire nder the deck and a flame about 5 inches tall and the diameter of a pencil shot straight up out of the deck with quite a bit of force..it was bbright red and it whistled kinda like a blow torch!. I freaked because im thinking magnesium style fire and the boat would end up as a puddle in the driveway... Lucky i was able to get the hose into the drain hole... luckily.. so yeah .. no more fires.. im done..( i hope)

anyone here ever seen what happens when a droplet of aluminum hits water while your welding?

its fascinating. it will hiss and buzz& dance around and around all the while burning bright white. I suspect that the heat stored in the molten aluminum is somehow causing the water to boil. once its boiling the oxygen is released and this feeds the Aluminum and it then burns bright like magnesium. i can make it happen over and over too. so there definetly is something to this..

I have no idea Dusty.
I do know that you dont pour water into the metal...or else kaboom.
There was always stories floating around metal shop when i was in school about some dumba_s making fishing lures and getting water in the lead... and boom, kid gets sprayed with molten lead and is given a free ride in an ambulance..

Its the same theory as diluting nitric acid, you can add one to the other but the other way around.. Unfortunatly I dont remember which is which so I tend to leave it be.

always hook up the ground, neutral and then the hot. Hot, neutral ,ground when disconnecting. this is a general rule of thumb. that way, theoretically, you are less likely to get stung because the hot is always out of the way.

SignWave,
just started reading this thread and have to say: CONGRATULATIONS!!! Doing a great job, but you haven't posted for about 19 days! By the speed you were going, I figure you must be in the water by now Have any updated pics?
Thanks for the posts and hope to see the new pics soon!!!!!!

an update

Hey All,
I havent been in here for a while. Ive got ten things on the go right now and the boat is getting its fair share.
-I built myself a cheesy engine stand so that I could bring the engine inside.
I built it too wide and had to cut it in half, take out a few inches and weld
it back together.... nothing like a little planning... The engine is in the house
now.

-Ive gone through the engine electrical and discovered the problems
hindering its starting and repaired them . Some jackass used "never seize"
as an anticorrosion compound.... on the electrical connectors and the
starter solenoid was fried. Ive also taken the lower leg apart in an effort to
replace the shaft seals. I had to make a couple of tools in order to make
that happen and I welded up the holes and crack in the anticavitation
plate. I just need to put it all back together, but a coat of paint first.
Epoxy sealer and then the finish color and a clear cote.

-Ive raised the height of the console, cut in gauges, put in a steering
wheel. Next stop will be to the boat and welding it in place

-Ive pretty much sealed up all the holes in the hull except for the transom
(its a real mess) and thats going to be the next area of attack. I need to
cut out the old reinforcing 2x6 thats been buried inside the transom and
behind a plate aluminum retatiner.. ITs welded in good.. Not a fun job to
remove.

-In about 4 days I should be getting a box or two of engine parts from Nova
Scotia and that will allow me to put the engine back together. for the
most part the engine is in pretty good shape, but does need some TLC
(alot of TLC...)

Things are moving along.. I just wish I was idol rich and didnt have a day job to worry about... Have a look at the attached pics...